To assess whether, as has been hypothesised since medieval times, acute fear can curdle blood. 24 healthy volunteers aged ≤30 years recruited among students, alumni, and employees of the Leiden University Medical Center: 14 were assigned to watch a frightening (horror) movie followed by a non-threatening (educational) movie and 10 to watch the movies in reverse order. The movies were viewed more than a week apart at the same time of day and both lasted approximately 90 minutes.

Celebrities frequently give medical advice and people often follow it. Whether motivated by good intentions or financial rewards, celebrities can generate much publicity for health campaigns by virtue of their visibility, public interest, and perceived newsworthiness. Steven Hoffman an assistant professor, and Charlie Tan a medical student, both at McMaster University, have attempted to find out why we seem so keen to follow their lead.

Sniffer dogs are often seen in airports, but Cliff, the beagle from Amsterdam, is more at home in a hospital. Cliff has been trained to sniff out the bacteria clostridium difficile, which is highly infectious and can cause outbreaks of diarrhoea on the ward. Scientists at the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam studied how effective Cliff was, and found that he can sniff out Clostridium difficile infections in stool samples and even in the air surrounding patients in hospital […]

London’s bid to host the Olympic Games in 2012 was won with a promise to increase public participation in sport. Denis Campbell, health correspondent for The Guardian, looks at the evidence, which suggests that the reality of the situation will not live up to the hype – and that the UK government’s cuts in other areas are actively discouraging children from taking part in school sports.

Miracle beauty products may be a staple Christmas present today, but they’re not a recent invention. Diane de Poitiers, a French noble woman and mistress of Henry II of France, tried to use gold to preserve her looks – in alchemical law, gold was immutable, and alchemists and apothecaries created various potions to pass this gift onto their customers. For Christmas, the BMJ has made a film about a French research team’s investigations of Diane’s remains, and its discovery that […]

Peter Fleming, a professor of infant health and developmental physiology at the Univerisy of Bristol, talks about his experience of publishing research in the BMJ. He covers the media’s reaction, and the change in sleeping practice that resulted from his publication.

The NHS is one of Britain’s largest contributors to our carbon footprint. This film is about the impact of climate change on babies born today, and how the NHS can reduce its carbon footprint. This full version of the film offers detailed guidance, but also give severe warnings if nothing is done.